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NORTH  CAROLINA 


THE  COLLECTION  OF 
NORTH  CAROLINIANA 

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OFFICIAL    ENDORSEMENT. 
i  — 

[LETTER  FROM  THE  GOVERNOR.] 

Executive  Office, 
Raleigh,  N.  C,  April  23rd,  1884. 

I  have  looked  through  the  statement  of  President  Gray, 
the  appendix  by  Prof.  Kerr,  and  the  intervening  pages  of  a 
pamphlet  entitled  "  Descriptive  Gazette  of  the  Cape  Fear 
and  Yadkin  Valley  Railway,"  Wilmington  and  Northwestern 
North  Carolina. 

Until  the  Spring  of  1883,  the  State  of  North  Carolina 
was  the  chief  owner  of  the  Cape  Fear  and  Yadkin  Valley 
Railroad,  at  which  time  I  and  my  associates,  by  authority 
of  the  General  Assembly,  transferred  the  State's  interest  in 
the  road  to  Robert  W.  Donnell  and  K.  M.  Murchison,  of 
New  York,  A.  Y.  Stokes  of  Richmond,  Jno.  D.  Williams 
and  E.  J.  Lilly  of  Fayetteville,  J.  Turner  Morehead  of 
Leaksville,  Robert  T.  Gray  of  Raleigh,  W.  A.  Lash  of 
Walnut  Cove,  W.  A  Moore  of  Mount  Airy,  Eugene  More- 
head  of  Durham,  D.  W.  C.  Benbovv  and  Julius  A.  Gray  of 
Greensboro.  The  purchasers  are  all  known  to  me  person- 
ally, except  Robert  W.  Donnell,  of  New  York,  and  I  know 
him  well  by  reputation,  and  I  do  not  hesitate  to  say  they 
are  all  men  of  the  very  highest  character.  It  will  not  be 
easy  to  find  the  same  number  of  men  engaged  in  one  enter- 
prise who  are  their  equals,  in  all  things  entitling  them  to 
the  respect  and  confidence  of  capitalists  and  the  public  gen- 
erally. 

I  became  Governor  of  the  State  in  February,  1879,  an^ 
have  since  that  time  been  discharging  the  duties  of  that 
office.  I  have  made  the  resources  of  the  State,  and  the 
best  means  of  developing  them,  my  great  study,  and  I  think 
it  will  be  admitted  I  have  some  familiarity  with  these  sub- 
jects.    There  were  two  great  railroad  enterprises  under  con- 


trol  of  the  State  when  I  came  into  office,  both  of  which 
were  in  a  very  unsatisfactory  condition,  until  the  State  sold 
her  interest  in  them.  I  refer  to  the  Western  North  Caro- 
lina Railroad  and  the  Cape  Fear  and  Yadkin  Valley  Rail- 
road. The  progress  made  in  extending  these  roads  was 
slow,  because  the  means  at  the  command  of  the  State  was 
small,  and  as  a  consequence,  the  sections  of  the  State  de- 
pendent upon  these  roads  for  growth  and  development 
suffered. 

Believing  railroads  to  be  the  great  developers  of  the  re- 
sources of  a  country,  I  welcomed  the  opportunity  to  place 
these  properties  in  the  hands  of  individuals  of  energy  and 
means.  Since  the  sale  of  these  roads  by  the  State,  the  work 
of  extending  them  has  been  rapid,  and  the  development  and 
growth  of  the  country  along  their  line  wonderful,  and  the 
policy  of  selling  them  fully  justified. 

I  have  interlarded  this  statement  with  these  general  re- 
marks, and  what  may  seem  to  some  irrelevant  narrative,  that 
those  who  read  it  may  know  something  of  my  opportunities 
for  information  as  to  the  matters  specially  concerning  the 
Cape  Fear  and  Yadkin  Valley  system  This  system  contem- 
plates a  continuous  and  independent  line  of  railway  from  the 
southeastern  to  the  northwestern  sections  of  the  State.  I 
have  been  into  every  county  along  this  contemplated  line, 
and  I  know  the  people,  the  country  and   its  resources. 

The  people  are  law  abiding,  industrious  and  thrifty  ;  the 
country  is  rich  in  resources  and  has  great  capabilities  for 
development  and  wealth. 

The  counties  of  the  northwestern  part  of  the  State,  which 
will  be  opened  up  and  developed  by  the  Yadkin  Valley 
branch  of  this  system,  are  especially  fertile.  In  fact,  I  do 
not  know  a  finer  section  of  country  in  this  or  any  other 
State. 

While  I  have  not  had  time  to  verify  every  statement  in 
the  pamphlet,  I  believe  the  important  facts,  figures  and 
statements  are  taken  from  official  sources  and  are  correct. 


I  do  not  think  the  picture  of  the  country  through  which 
the  road  passes,  and  its  resources  and  possibilities,  as  set 
out  in  this  pamphlet,  are  overdrawn. 

THOS.  J.  JARVIS, 
Governor  of  North  Carolina. 


[LETTER  FROM  THE  STATE  TREASURER.] 

Treasury  Department, 
Raleigh,  N.  C,  April  24th,  1884. 

I  have  carefully  read  the  "  Descriptive  Gazette  of  the 
Cape  Fear  and  Yadkin  Valley  Railway,"  and  from  personal 
knowledge  of  the  subjects  therein  treated,  unhesitatingly  en- 
dorse the  same  as  a  plain  and  correct  statement  of  the  facts. 
The  officers  and  directors  of  the  company  are  personally 
known  to  me  to  be  honest  and  upright  gentlemen,  and  every 
statement  made  by  them  can  be  implicitly  relied  upon.  It 
affords  me  pleasure  to  officially  sanction  any  movement  that 
tends  to  benefit  the  State,  when  I  know  that  it  is  candidly 

and  truthfully  made. 

J.  M.  WORTH. 

State  Treasurer. 


[LETTER  FROM  THE  STATE    AUDITOR.] 

Auditor's  Department, 

Raleigh,  April  25th,  1884. 

The  compilation  of  statistics  of  wealth,  acreage  and  tax 
values  as  presented  in  the  Descriptive  Gazette  of  the  C.  F. 
&  Y.  V.  R'y,  were  taken  from  the  files  in  this  office,  and  are 
correct  as  officially  furnished  from  the  several  counties  along 
the  line  of  the  Railway;  and  all  statements  of  fact  based  on 
official  data  in  this  Department  can  at  any  time  be  verified 
at  this  office. 

C.  E.  CROSS, 
Chief  Clerk  to  Auditor  of  State. 


L 


^  $7060   /f>H 


[LETTER  FROM  THE  COMMISSIONER  OF  AGRI- 
CULTURE.] 

Department  of  Agriculture, 
Raleigh,  April  25th,  1884. 

I  have  read  the  "  Descriptive  Gazette  of  the  Cape  Fear 
and  Yadkin  Valley  Railway "  with  much  interest.  The 
description  of  the  country  traversed  by  this  line,  as  also  of 
its  resources,  is  true  and  just.  Indeed,  I  know  of  no  rail- 
way of  equal  length  where  the  natural  wealth  of  the  country 
is  so  great.  Its  great  resources  will  be  evident  upon  a  mere 
enumeration  of  what  is  found  along  its  course.  At  its  east- 
ern terminus  is  a  large  area  of  country  underlaid  with  phos- 
phate rock  of  a  high  grade  ;  along  the  middle  part  are  ex- 
tensive beds  of  coal  and  iron,  and  similar  beds  of  coal  and 
iron,  together  with  limestone,  at  its  present  western  termi- 
nus. All  the  cereals  are  grown  along  this  line  of  railway, 
from  the  rice  of  the  Cape  Fear  to  the  wheat  of  the  middle 
section.  Along  the  western  half  of  it  much  of  our  finest 
fruit  and  of  our  best  tobacco  is  produced.  Lastly,  though 
this  list  is  far  from  embracing  all  that  gives  value,  and  even 
exceptional  value,  to  the  region  of  country  here  spoken  of, 
the  finest  timbers  abound  there  from  the  long-leaf  pine  to 
the  walnut,  hickory,  maple,  and  other  hard  woods  used  in 
the  arts. 

The  broadest  basis  of  agricultural  and  manufacturing 
prosperity  exists  along  this  line.  Now  that  this  Railway  is 
completed  it  needs  no  prescience  to  foretell  that  the  coun- 
try through  which  it  passes  must  soon  become  the  seat  of 
busy  industries.  Its  direct  communication  with  ocean  steam- 
ships is  a  crowning  advantage. 

Respectfully, 

M.  McGEHEE. 
Coin'r  of '  Agriatltitre. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  N.C.  AT  CHAPEL  HILL 


FOR  USE  ONLY  IN 
THE  NORTH  CAROLINA  COLLECTION 


